Our first response regards the accommodations. The first hotel was located in a wonder location that over looked the marina in the cove. But the hotel was well below our expectations. The sleeping room as well as the bathroom were very small. The air conditioning was not working upon check in nor was the room safe. The breakfast selections left a lot to be desired. It was a situation of same old same old every morning. The second hotel was much much better as per sleeping room and bathroom size. The foods offered at breakfast were much better than the first hotel. The second hotel had a very inviting swimming pool. It is too bad that the second hotel was so far out in the country side. It seems that we were at least 20 minutes or more from any place the group was scheduled to visit. As for the trip agenda it was too oriented toward water activities. We wish we had read and investigated the agenda more carefully. On other Curata trips we have enjoyed visiting towns and villages. This was not to be on this trip. Upon investigation of the island we wish the trip would have travelled to and stayed in the southwestern corner of the island. Water activities as well as visitations to towns and villages could have been planned. It was nice to be able to fly into and out of the same airport. This is a cost saving measure compared to flying into one city and flying out of a second city. This was a very cordial group of people we traveled with on this trip. The Group Leaders were very competent as well as knowledgeable and friendly. But we don’t see why three Group Leaders are needed.

We had a great time, saw many interesting things, good accommodations and good (but excessive quantities of) food. Our traveling companions were all friendly, considerate, on-time, and fun. The team leaders were very knowledgeable and helpful and did a good job. However, we didn’t need three leaders. The daily newsletter was very useful. First the negatives. Our experience at Su Golgone was to say the least, uncomfortable. With seemingly large mostly empty seating areas, we were stuffed together at one table, cheek to jowl, where the simple task of cutting one’s food resulted in elbowing (and being elbowed by) the persons on either side. Getting up from the table required a ridiculous effort. A good dinner spoiled by bad logistics. In other cases, such as Il Pescatore and lunch at Corte Barisone, seating was again quite tight, but not to the degree of Su Golgone. Now the positives. With regard to the activities, we especially enjoyed the wine making experience at Cantina Dorgali, the cheese making at Agriturismo Codula Fiuli, the filigree demonstration at L’Orafo di Mattia Patteri, and the wonderful (sandy) beach day at L’Approdo beach, the visit to the Tomb of the Giants, and lastly the cooking class at Resort Tenuta Pilastru. Could be improved. The visit to the Bue Marino Caves was very nice, but somewhat marred by a combination of the thick accent of the cave’s tour guide, and even more, an inability to hear him. “Whisperers” (earbuds) would have been nice. The “beaches” we stopped at weren’t worth the effort. The day 6 sail boat excursion was nice, particularly because of the friendliness and knowledge of our skipper. The visit to Vigne Surrau Winery (or was it an art gallery?) was nice but we had already seen better. I would consider eliminating the visit to Spazio. We were promised a different glass of rosé with each slice, but our “welcome” cocktail didn’t even make it to the table until the third slice. Afterwards, we were poured rosé from Provence, which despite being a premiere region worldwide for rosé wines, was hardly a different one with each slice. And sorry, Franco Pepe, your various pizzas were definitely not the world’s best. We can do better locally. Franco needs to learn how to set expectations. The idea of a dress-up night to go out for pizza also seemed odd, but kind of made sense since we were going to a “fancy” resort which we barely caught a glimpse of. Serving the welcome cocktail outside before going in to eat (or even eating outside) would have made for a more enjoyable evening. In general, given our wonderful weather, more outdoor dining would have been a general improvement. Dinner at Lu Stazzu was outside (yay!), we weren’t crowded, and the food was both good and reasonable in quantity. My only complaint was service of water and wine seemed to end about an hour before we left. I chose not to have an espresso, and thus had nothing. Accommodations We really liked our tiny room at Hotel Bue Marino. We enjoyed sitting on our small balcony and looking out to sea. Both the rooftop bar and the outdoor street level bar were very good. Breakfast was ok, but limited and not terribly exciting. Resort Tenuta Pilastru offered more space, and the outdoor sitting area was nice. The landscape behind their restaurant was amazing (dining out there would have been special). The pool was nice. The grounds, in general, were attractively landscaped. A minor issue was even though the walk-in shower was much larger than that at Bue Marino, it wasn’t my favorite of the two. The lack of a shower door or curtain at the entrance (typically European) meant water on the floor. I finally mastered it the day before we left. Breakfast was more extensive than at Bue Marino. A one question survey seems woefully inadequate to be of much use in helping you to learn and tweak future versions of this trip. In my experience, a typical survey would have multiple pages devoted to accommodations, activities, restaurants, and performance of the travel company (you).

We had a great time! We enjoyed the beautiful, rugged scenery and crystal clear blue waters of Sardinia! The best part was meeting local artisans as they shared their history and love for their craft. My only suggestion would be to plan one group meal per day and allow more time for individual exploration.

We had a great trip and wonderful experience. The hotels were nice. The people on the trip were delightful and made the trip even better. The food was delicious! Lastly our guides were very friendly and helpful. They helped make our experience wonderful.

Larry and I absolutely adored everyday of this journey.. we made a mistake..not to come a day early .. to get our sleepy heads in order! This whole experience was extremely well planned..guides..hotels..tour communications .food..Chateaus..meeting old friends and making new.. great idea..using what's app!! Where's RALPH???